Conduct Unbecoming
by Rebecca Hb
Summary: Ani: Ultra Magnus disciplines one of his Academy trainers for an affair with a student of hers.


**Conduct Unbecoming**

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Any other mech, he thought but did not say, would not have had the courage to lift the glossy photograph off of his desk. Not when it so luridly showed her with the young cadet in her arms, leaving very little to the imagination as to what they were up to.

Ultra Magnus, however, was the last mech to ever deny Beta's bravery and daring. She had been one of his direct subordinates during the war, and he had served beside her for decades before the Decepticon sneak attack on Cybertron launched the war.

Like far too many veterans of the war, she should have been a public hero. But, like Kup, her actions were carefully glossed over by the history files, her records locked under a security clearance too specialized for few besides him to look at. The dark days of the war didn't need to poison the new generation with glory-lust and stupidity masquerading as bravery. Nor did they need to know of what had happened to Paradron or how the future would proceed without the Allspark.

"Nice shot," she commented as she propped one leg against the edge of his desk and leaned her ornate stool back onto two legs. "Could make some nice posters from that. Lot of young mechs would go for it."

Ultra Magnus gave her a stern glare. Her worn voice and time-dulled colors, once-bright whites now faded to ivory and once-brilliant greens now soft and dusky, attested to her age and experience. She knew better. She knew her behavior was unacceptable. Even if she was behaving like a junior officer in his prescence.

No, he corrected himself. She was behaving like Beta. A junior officer would never **dare** to behave as insolently as she did.

"You are well aware, Beta, that your affair with this cadet properly calls for a court martial." He reached for a set of holo-cubes in his inbox and set them out on his desktop.

"But due to my service, you're not going to do that, are you?" Beta let the stool settle back on all four of its legs, an intensely expectant expression on her face. "So what are you going to do to me, Ultra?"

Ultra Magnus activated one of the cubes with a tap. It projected a jagged landscape of barren, red rock into the air between the two Transformers. A dim red sun hung off to the far side, and the crispness of the stars implied that this place had no planetary atmosphere. "There have been reports of Decepticons skulking near Charr."

He moved to the next one. This cube projected a bustling metropolis of a city, filled with all sorts of different aliens. "Our ambassador on Pequod will need a new security chief very soon."

"Finally," he said as he activated the remaining holo-cube, and it projected the image of a dimly-lit park. The plants seemed to be wilting, and the alien playground equipment seems dilapidated. "Some sort of mysterious blight has affected Pz-Zazz. There are rumors of the Decepticons, but they're barely whispers. Certainly not enough to send a full team after."

"Smelt, you're not trying at _all_ to be subtle here." Beta rocked forward on her stool and jabbed her hand through the holo-projection of Pz-Zazz. "If I'm going to go out-system chasing Decepticons, I'm not taking a team. Just my life on the line. No others."

"Very well. Your new assignment will be processed and officially posted in the next three days. Until then, I would prefer you to concentrate on settling your affairs with the Academy and selecting a successor rather than teaching."

She nodded. "All right."

"Dismissed."

She didn't move as he deactivated each holo-cube and set them into his outbox. Nor did she move when he turned deliberately to one of his monitor screens to read the multitude of reports that he needed to be aware of.

"Beta," he said warningly after he had finished the third report. "You're still here."

"What are you going to do to Optimus?" She drew her leg back from his desk and hooked her ankle over a rail on the stool, before crossing her legs.

He didn't answer her right away, preferring to study the way she held herself. There was something in her voice, in her mannerisms that he had not seen in a very long time...

Was she nervous?

For the _boy_?

"I am not going to do anything to the cadet, Beta," Ultra Magnus said calmly as he picked up the photograph on his desk and fed it into the incinerator. "He is a young mech who has been taken advantage of by someone he should have been able to trust. He has done nothing wrong."

She mimicked the sound of a backfiring engine with her vocoder. Much quieter than an actual backfire, and it wouldn't bring his guards running. So she did still have some good judgement in her systems somewhere. "As long as you hold to that, Ultra..."

He remained uncertain on whether she had meant for that lingering edge of threat in her voice or not as Beta walked out of his office.

Then he turned to his monitor and entered a few commands to bring up the cadet's record. A quick scan gave him the impression of a promising young soldier, intelligent, mentally flexible, and with potential as an officer.

And yet...

There had to be a flaw. The cadet had carried on an affair with one of his trainers, despite knowing what he did was against regulations. That kind of thinking could poison a mech if encouraged.

He inserted a note into the cadet's file, instructing all of his trainers to push him to the uttermost without let-up.

The Academy was the forge of Cybertron's great warriors. Whatever flaw this Optimus possessed must be hammered out before graduation. If the cadet failed, Ultra Magnus would know that the flaw was too great, and that the cadet couldn't be trusted with any post of importance. If he succeeded...

Well, Ultra Magnus would burn that bridge when he came to it.

**-End-**


End file.
